Scope of the EU Family Regulations. Parental responsibility

This paper is part of the Final Study drafted within the EU project "Planning the future of cross-border families: a pathe through coordination - EUFam's". It provides an overview of the material and personal scope of Brussels IIa Regulation concerning parental responsibility, followed by some preliminary issues regarding the use of this notion in other international instruments. Then, the matters included in and excluded from the scope of parental responsibility within the meaning of the Regulation are assessed in more detail, considering the relevant CJEU and national case law. To conclude, some remarks on the practical implications of a far-reaching understanding of the concept of parental responsibility within the EU legal system are proposed.